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‘This is just uncomfortable’: How Utah’s K-12 education leaders plan to slash millions under state-mandated budget cut

Lawmakers asked the Utah State Board of Education and other state agencies to reduce overall expenses by 5%.

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Utah State Board of Education in Salt Lake City on Thursday, April 3, 2025.

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Utah’s state school board on Thursday finalized its recommendations for cutting $163 million in K–12 programs — a last-minute mandate from lawmakers just weeks before this year’s legislative session began.

The mandate directed state agencies to plan for reducing overall expenses by 5%.

The Utah State Board of Education approved two different proposals, each of which they will present to the Legislature’s Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee early Friday.

The first recommends about $39 million in reductions to specific education programs, falling well short of the $163 million lawmakers requested.

The second combines those targeted cuts with a sweeping reduction across all remaining programs to meet the overall goal, including programs that fund student mental health supports, suicide prevention, literacy and special education.

As of Thursday evening, USBE staff were still calculating what percent would need to be cut across the board in that scenario.

Lawmakers, not the board, have the ultimate say on state spending. The latest legislative session started Tuesday and runs for 45 days, during which time a budget must be approved, including any cuts to public education.

Thursday marked the board’s second discussion on the issue, following an initial meeting on Jan. 15. Both amounted to roughly 10 hours of tense deliberation over what to consider for the chopping block.

“This is just uncomfortable,” said board chair Matt Hymas on Thursday. “It is difficult to make a decision here.”

Board members have repeatedly cited lawmakers’ short notice and limited data as obstacles to making decisions that would best support students.

“We just don’t have all of the relevant information we need,” board member Joe Kerry said. “We are looking at these programs as dollar signs and not the students behind these programs.”

Thursday’s meeting added $10 million in recommended cuts on top of the roughly $29 million USBE approved last week.

The latest recommended cuts include:

  • $1.9 million to eliminate the state’s foreign exchange program, which allows secondary students from other countries to attend a Utah high school for up to one academic year.
  • $2 million that would eliminate “competency-based education grants,” which provide schools funding to create programs that let students progress once they’ve mastered a skill or subject, rather than moving forward based on time spent in class.
  • $1.2 million to cut incentives for teachers to earn an elementary or secondary STEM education endorsement.

    • Last week, board members’ recommended cuts included:

  • $6.1 million to reduce Utah Fits All, the voucher program that allocates money to students in homeschool or private school, by 5%.
  • $3.8 million to cut out 92% of the budget for special needs opportunity scholarship administration.
  • $45,000 for administrative funds for UPSTART, a digital program that helps young children prepare for preschool.
  • Roughly $10.6 million to cut software licenses for early literacy.